1. Field of the Invention
It is devoted to space-saving and long operating wind vortex plants of large electric power intensively using solar, either geothermal, or waste heating of water feeding system of steam jets fully forcing vortex flow. The plants can start up and flexibly operate during absence of wind, solar radiation and hot ambient air. They are profitably adapted to different climate and regime without combustion of fuel, extensive convection collector, overstressed moving components of tower, mechanical sucking of air, and air turbine(s) of limited power. More specifically, the new embodiments of plants are adapted to unfavorable conditions including periods of changeable and low ambient temperatures and power loads, partly at cold winter. They include simplified and compacted vortex tower with said system of steam jets, flow-through electric generator with rotated drum or with magnetic concentrators, and regime storage of heated water, or off-seasonal solar heater-storage sucking, accelerating and swirling stagnant ambient air by fast steam jets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The problem of large-scale and profitable usage of renewable and waste energy sources is complicated by their dispersed and/or low-grade nature with interruptive and changeable input, unfavorable climatic factors, and difference between regimes of input and consumption of energy. Therefore, the large number of low-power wind turbines and photovoltaic units, the same as tremendous and expensive convection towers or previously offered wind vortex towers, cannot be profitable at unfavorable climate and regime. They cannot cover completely, flexibly and cheaply the growing energy demand and replace expansion of thermal and atomic power plants without financial support.
The main problems not solved in the Prior Art to implement vortex power plants are the following: creation of space-saving vortex units of large electric power competitive with other kinds of power plants; sustained use of interruptive and changeable renewable or waste sources of energy without firing of fuel; providing of starts and flexible operation under unfavorable climate and loading without firing of fuel. The attempts to augment attainable power and adapt to unfavorable conditions via supplementary combustion of high-quality fuel in vortex flow, for instance in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,211,084, 4,452,046 and 4,935,639, cannot solve these problems because of limited power of air turbine and low reliability of moving components inside vortex tower. Combining of vortex unit with diesel or other thermal power plant, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,544, also leads to significant share of replacing fuel and increases total cost. These problems can be solved basing on our invention complementing and exceeding wind kinetic energy by renewable or waste heat partially conversed into large-power vortex kinetic energy. The plant is intensified and compacted using fast steam jets along zones of vortex channel before and after flow-though electric generator, not only in a center of tower base with low rotation moment as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,740. We receive fully forced vortex flow without firing of fuel, mechanical sucking of air, overstressed moving components of tower, and air turbine(s) of limited power accepted, partly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046. These features expand all-weather abilities of the plants invented in the parent patent. The plants can start up and operate during absence of wind and solar radiation at positive ambient temperatures (° C.). For stable operation at low positive and negative temperatures during insufficient or absent wind winds, and solar radiation, it is required higher mass rate of supplementary forcing steam. This is necessary for involving of cold ambient air into vortex tower, intensive heating, humidifying and acceleration of air, vorticity energizing, energy conversion, and removing out of waste air. At inadequate rate can appear an excessive ice limiting or interrupting power generation. Such unfavorable climatic conditions reduce velocities of vortex flow during starting-up and conversion of vortex kinetic energy into electricity in the flow-through electric generator with whirled magnetic concentrators (MACs) invented in the parent patent. Reduction of velocities is going also at given decrease of power load. It changes proportions between centrifugal forces and magnetic repulsion forces of the poles S of MACs, and between weight of MACs and lifting forces of vortex flow. This can lead to deviations from the standard three-phase voltage induced by MACs, taking off MACs from electric generator, and decrease of annual operation time.
Therefore, it is reasonable to make preferred designs of units of the plant for the mentioned wider climatic and regime conditions, including cold winter, and changeable, low and peak electric loads. Such new embodiments of compacted and cheap vortex power plants, which do not fire fuel, and do not use large number of overstressed moving parts and mechanisms of limited power, is the goal of this CIP that was not attained in the Prior Art. Last assertion needs of detailed consideration.
The vortex towers offered previously include too large and not sufficiently reliable guiding, blocking, damping, and accelerating moving structures operating under changeable accelerated airflows, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046. It is recognized, partly, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,215,199 B1, 6,518,680 and 6,590,300 B1. Especially it relates to changeable electric load, temperature, and velocity of involved ambient air giving alternating dynamical stresses and leading to unstable plant operation. At low ambient temperatures, the moving parts as 17 and 18 (FIG. 3) in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046, and in other patents mentioned above, can be covered by ice preventing to form, confine, and control vortex flow.
Various sources and ways of heat intake near base of vortex tower were suggested to augment power, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,452,046 and 4,935,639. Partly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046 discloses usage of saturated air 40 and hot water 43 (FIGS. 4 and 5) sucked under kinetic energy of wind, or by blade-type energy converter 24 at absence of wind, which create a depress column drawing in the unsteady heated air generated by the solar face 20. However, the air is not directed and highly accelerated along whole vortex flow to provide forcing kinetic energy replacing and exceeding wind energy, as is made in our invention. Therefore, vortex process and heat usage can proceed interactively only at sufficient wind. Such passive heat intake near base cannot provide starting up at insufficient wind and calm. At absence of solar radiation and decrease of ambient temperature, the heat support decreases and then disappears even under enough wind. The separate solar hothouse 30 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046 with water pipes 39 and 43 will be frozen at negative temperatures (° C.), and combustion of fuel 22 in vortex tower and mechanical sucking of air by blade-type energy converter 24 become unavoidable to continue operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,740, at low ambient temperatures, the colder air absorbs heat and kinetic energy of outlet vortex flow 75, 24 generated under Carioles forces for long transition that becomes impossible. The process is not adaptive to load reduction, because the Carioles forces become insufficient for transition. To increase attainable power of vortex plant, usage of several towers interconnected by large air tunnels with many of large switching, collecting, and distributing units in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046 (FIGS. 6, 7, 13–18) makes problematical stable operation at changeable loads and air temperatures. Combining with any devices supplying large amount of solar heat into bottom zones of the cyclonic towers does not neglect this limitation of attainable power and longevity of stable operation, because of additional airflows did not control differently the changing zones of several interconnected vortex flows. Artificial winds, created by vortex towers, destroy functioning of neighboring solar collectors. Combustion of fuel in anti-cyclonic towers is useless because of oncoming directions of upward hot gases and downward cold vortex flow. The attempts to support a small, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,084, or a partially confined large-scale vortex flow based on atmospheric convection and artificial near-bottom swirling of heated upward airflow face the problems of too large necessary diameter of air heating collector and swirling camera, large quantity of heating/cooling apparatus and air turbines. Such complex design and vortex flow are inflexible to changeable load and air performance. After passing into unconfined zone, the vortex flow becomes unstable under any wind or change of atmospheric conditions along supposed active atmospheric height of 15–20 km. An attempt to augment power via near-ground heating of air by steam or combustion of fuel increases losses of energy and moisture into the atmosphere, especially at decreasing ambient temperature, and vortex flow decays. Our CIP uses the abilities of system of fast jets of saturated steam to supplement, replace, and exceed not only heat, but also kinetic energy of wind along the zones of confining vortex channel for stable energizing and development of vorticity, sustained support of large electric power, and strict control of tornado-type flow at changeable and low temperatures and loads.
In this CIP are used only outside adjustable vanes under lower inlet velocities of wind or sucked free air. The steam and air nozzles do not contain moving parts under higher inside velocities. It differs from unreliable usage of large moving airfoils 18 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046 (FIG. 3) or inner vanes 16 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,639 (FIGS. 3a, 3b) under high velocities of accelerated airflows.
In the parent patent, a flow-through electric generator with rotated magnetic concentrators has a limited lower tangential velocity of outlet vortex flow. It must be higher of tangential velocity of synchronized magnetic concentrators for their stable rotation and induction of standard three-phase voltage. This condition limits decrease of vortex velocity under decreasing power load and air temperature. Therefore, in the CIP is disclosed, firstly, a design of magnetic concentrators preferable for work at decreased velocities of vortex flow. Secondly, for conditions with significant periods of changeable and low ambient temperatures and power loads, and correspondingly lower velocities of vortex flow, is disclosed a new design of flow-through electric generator with rotated drum. The design differs from the design in the parent patent and from the known unconventional kinds. For instance, from generating direct current ionic, MHD, piston, and ferrofluidic generators in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,064,409, 4,242,591, 4,433,248 and 4,691,130. Such generators cannot be placed reliably near fast whirling vortex core and operate under changeable vortex velocities.
Our generator has no analogs also among the vortex attractors, reversible electric machines providing energy storage, and other electric machines, or mechanical drivers of fluid flows. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,753 the vortex attractor has an impeller with a drive shaft 35 and rotated vanes 31 transferring a torque to rotated vortex flow attracting a back plate 33 with ring structure minimizing parasitic flows into attracting zone of low pressure. This design cannot be used for opposite function of large-scale power generation, so as such impeller can work in the range of too low sizes and vortex velocities for minimizing the parasitic flows (See specification, pages 27, 28). Corresponding spent power is several watts (See page 30). The larger shaft, vanes, and back plate with ring cannot be placed into the zone of high-velocity vortex core of tornado-type flow. They will prevent to rotation of flow of high power and will be destroyed immediately. In design of vortex attractor there is no place also for three-phase stator. It will prevent to reduction of parasitic flows and to constraining of low-pressure region into a desired small location. The additional concentric wall 29 and the ring at the back plate 33 must have enough strength, required for increasing of their thickness with growing sizes. This prevents to necessary electromagnetic interaction between the rotor and stator requiring of minimum air gap.
The similar attempt to make a large-power vortex electric generator from a flywheel structure, for instance used in U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,336, also cannot be realized. The structure can interact with external sources of electric or mechanical power and with outside winds, and cannot interact with internal confined tornado-type flow. There is no place for tornado-type flow inside such design of energy storage, because the flywheel takes up the central place together with supporting, resisting, and guarding structures as 11, 20, 44–46, and 49. The design cannot use directly any kind of heat to support the tornado-type flow at low ambient temperatures and calm, and is incompatible with such flow.
In our CIP, a design novelty and advantage is that the flow-through electric generator has rotated drum with work airfoils and inducing magnets for flexible interaction with whirling tornado-type flow at lower flow velocities than can the generator with whirled magnetic concentrators. An advantage is also usage of bearing magnetic cushions, top and side magnetic suspensions together with guarding rubber rollers as supplementary supports and stabilizers of the rotated drum. The main supporting and stabilizing forces are lifting and rotating forces of upward tornado-type flow acting onto work airfoils. These forces completely or mostly compensate the weight of drum dependent on the power of vortex flow that is augmented and controlled by system of steam jets due to changes of weather and electric load.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,336 are used operating permanent magnets 24 (See page 12 of specification and claims 43 and 44), and magnetic bearings of non-defined kind as alternative decision (Claims 20–22).
In our CIP, the inducing and bearing permanent magnets are combined with electromagnets. Such design yields control of parameters and stability of electric generator, and provides together with guarding rollers reliability of magnetic cushions and suspensions at changeable conditions and vortex velocities.
In addition, the rotated drum is located at periphery of the whirling vortex core having maximum lifting force. The drum has aerodynamic interaction with vortex flow and electromagnetic interaction with adjustable stator of generator, and with magnetic supports at the tower structure. Such design differs from rotated tower 2 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,639. This tower is incorporated together with conventional air turbine 23 and generator 24 through shaft into one unit of relatively large weight and height (FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b). Therefore, the air turbine limits an attainable electric power and thus makes uncompetitive the whole design and means for power augmenting. Moreover, too high weight and level of vibrations of such long rotating system with shaft limits possibilities of reliable support and stabilization of generator via magnetic bearings made only of permanent magnets (See last paragraph in specification), especially at changeable weather and loading. Additionally, the rotating system is subjected to high-temperature stressing and corroding from gases after combustion of fuel 12 (FIG. 3b).
For a verse, the rotated drum of flow-through electric generator neglects such limitations and is compatible with means of thermal augmenting of vortex power without combustion of fuel.
An important part of steam-enhanced vortex plant, operating at changeable loads and winter periods with negative temperatures (° C.) and insufficient winds or calm, is a system supplying kinetic energy and heat, without combustion of fuel and/or mechanical air sucking and acceleration accepted in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,211,084, 4,452,046, and 4,935,639. The off-seasonal heat storage supplies both kinetic energy and heat of airflows and of jets of saturated steam into vortex tower. The design and operation of such accelerating storage at unfavorable conditions is not an obvious task for the specialists in the light of the Prior Art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046, mixture of high-temperature gas after combustion of fuel 22 with saturated air 40 inside lower part of vortex tower (FIGS. 4 and 5) destroys and corrodes turbine 24 and other structures, especially at low temperature of saturated air giving low dew point. It is chemically dangerous both at contact of mixture with water in condenser 27 and after exhaust 11. To use expensive internal or external top units for removing of oxides and impurities from gas products, and from airflow with corrosion products means to destroy columnar vortex flow and work of turbines 24 and 9. Rotor of turbine 9 can be broken by accelerated vortex flow. The same relates to fuel combustion offered in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,211,084 and 4,935,639 (12 in FIG. 3b).
Meantime, the applied in the parent patent combining with low-temperature heating system supplying heated water to vortex tower without combustion of fuel is preferred because yields minimum stresses, quality requirements to equipment, and cost. Moreover, the sucking of tornado-type flow is used through ties of heated water with vortex tower for intensification of heating system, decrease of size and cost, and reduction of auxiliary power and energy losses. The swirling and separating abilities of vortex flow also are used for recirculation and purifying of precipitating condensate. The condensate, separated from condensed vapor of involved ambient air, is used for heating, storing, and controlled flashing with acceleration of directed steam jets. This differs from purifying and heating of additional seawater 39 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046. Corresponding additional exhaust losses of seawater after tower cannot be preferred at water deficit, and additional expenses for desalination of seawater are required.
On the one hand, the referred patents disclose designs that limit an attainable power of the unit through limited strength of overstressed moving structures of tower and conventional air turbines, insufficient adaptation to utilized energy source, changeable weather and regime, and unreliability of tower structures under incompatible combustion of fuel. These designs limit also an annual operation time of tower, because they cannot start up and operate at insufficient winds or calm, absence of solar radiation, and low ambient temperatures, or they use fuel giving low reliability, effectiveness, and ecologic fitness.
On the other hand, the designs with such limitations of power and operation time cannot be combined efficiently with additional heating devices and with devices, which can augment and support power generation longer via storage and intake of excessive heat. These possibilities also did not receive a preferred solution in the Prior Art. Indeed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,006 is disclosed the solar power system of large size and quantity of solar reflectors 38 and stacks 20 containing heating, power generating, and auxiliary equipment. Relatively to large size, the system gives low mass rate of solar heated airflows through fixed inlets 28 with horizontal cross-sections (See FIGS. 2, 7 and 15). The external airflows raise upward after concentrated solar heating (Not showed at drawings). The upward airflows can pass by the horizontal inlets 28 easily, especially at wind. This destroys flow direction from inlets 28 to outlets 30. The main energy of reflected solar rays is concentrated onto outlets 30, 48, and thus their heat can be lost easily into the atmosphere at any wind and decrease of ambient temperature, or under upward convection of solar heated ambient air. The system cannot operate at insufficiency or absence of solar radiation.
The system is incompatible with large-scale heat storage, because of the height of 427 m of top outlets 30 is not suitable to supply a near-ground or underground storage by hot air to heat a storing media. Additionally, the heating by air is low effective at low heat transfer from the air. To accumulate hot air directly requires for too large auxiliary power for air compression, and too large storage. The similar inefficiency and tremendous necessary sizes relate to convection solar heating 21 of wind flows 6, 15 through the surface 20 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046 (FIG. 4), and wind flows 4 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,639 (FIGS. 3a, 3b), which also cannot be stored, or need of compression under high auxiliary power.
In our CIP, the water is heated directly by solar rays, stored for a long time in the shut solar ponds having materials of high heat density, and used for controlled flashing with directed acceleration of jets of saturated steam through stages of nozzles. The stages are located in the radial bulkheads forming air channels between transparent solar roof and water surfaces of ponds of the storage, and then along vortex channel. This gives, first, kinetic energy of crossing airflows sufficient for vortex energizing and support with large-scale power generation at the mostly unfavorable weather conditions. Water has several orders higher heat transfer and specific heat value than air. It can be easily stored together with accumulating/releasing materials of high heat density. The steam jets received after water flashing give high kinetic energy and latent condensation heat yielding decrease of storage size, with low demand for auxiliary power under vortex sucking. For heating and acceleration of wind or stagnant air, the sucking and forcing steam jets are used, together or without solar radiation, via directing contact swirling that yields intensified heat and mass transfer. However, not via weak passive convection transfer from air 6 and 15 to accumulating materials 45 as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046, using sucking of air 6 and 15 by turbine converter 24 consuming electricity from power system. The pond 44 with preliminary heated water 43 is separated by thick wall from these materials and from solar rays 21. Water 43 and humid air 40 cannot produce high-power kinetic energy. For a verse, they are subjected to mechanical sucking from the same turbine converter 24 (columns 3 and 4 of specification, FIGS. 4 and 5).
The principal difference of storage in our invention is actively intensified process, and design producing both high-power kinetic energy and concentrated heat without mechanical drive and firing of high-quality fuel. Partly, the difference from patent DE 3924968 A1 using outside wind turbines 22–25 at the tower, air turbine in the tower, and peak hydraulic turbine 18 needing of large water storage with pumps 20, is also the following. In our invention are used the wind energy and the heat energy from any one or two compatible water heating source(s) just in one the same single working process dependently on changeable weather and power regime. It has the compact water heating system with single heat storage-water heater functioning simultaneously as strict accelerator of steam and air or wind. Moreover, it has the single flow-through electrical generator of high power located in compacted tower with intensified tornado-type flow. In patent DE 3924968 A1, the increase of rated wind, hydraulic, or air power can be achieved through simultaneous increases of the number of wind turbines, tower height and diameter, water storage, and auxiliary power of pumps. It gives exceeding raise of the limited over-stresses and cost of these components. The inlet velocities of ambient air sucked by inner flow can exceed the maximum velocities limited by stresses of near located wind turbines. Solar heating of air in patent DE 3924968 A1 is low effective, especially at fast peak loading, because of weak heating of air and absence of air storage. The attempts to use the air as a single media for combined usage of wind and solar energy without long time heat storage give the similar limited results even at favorable climatic conditions, and especially at unfavorable or intermediate conditions. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,544 the favorable average wind velocity and solar radiation are supplemented not by regime or off-seasonal storage of solar heat, but by a short-term storage comprising black body 40, and by fuel-powered diesel 56 (FIG. 4 and FIG. 7). At unfavorable conditions requiring of larger amount of stored heat, the black body 40 becomes ineffective because of low accumulation capacity and low heat transfer to the air. The diesel 56 becomes the major power producer via fuel combustion. At use of air, power output is limited by size of circular structure. The authors define height as approximately between 35 and 80 feet (Claim 13). Both radial and axial air turbines 34 and 48 are mounted on the same shaft 26 together with electric generator 28 and gearbox, and alternatively with a clutch. Such decision limits height of the structure, and total power output is limited by the level of 12–13 hp (Column 8 of specification). Such design cannot be satisfying for large-power plant, especially at unfavorable and intermediate climate and regime. At the calm, too weak convection acceleration after solar heating of air 44 cannot support necessary power output.
It is seen from analysis above that more effective heat accumulating/releasing and air accelerating media and design decisions are necessary due to unfavorable climatic and loading conditions. They are not disclosed in the Prior Art. Partly, the double-glass solar-heated surfaces with air inside were widely used for thermal insulation in the windows of buildings in the cold regions, and for heating of air behind these surfaces by passing through solar rays. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,897 the double or triple transparent glazing 34 with distanced insulated opaque copper or aluminum plates 32 are used in the collector panels at the buildings as insulating means for minimizing of heat losses at the winter, and minimizing of solar heating at the summer. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,283, the solar collector formed by sheets of reflecting aluminum foil 21, 24 uses solar rays that cross and heat double-glass sheets 26, 27 with incoming air between them. The air heats further the distanced pipes 16 with domestic water. A group of collectors forms a natural circulation system together with air in a building and gives air and water temperatures several times lower of 100° C. The foil cannot support temperature of 100° C. and higher for off-seasonal water storing at unfavorable climate. Use of double-glass heating of air and then convective heating of water by air through pipes is ineffective, relative to direct solar heating of water in double-glass surfaces disclosed in our CIP. Sizes of water tracks and pumping losses are several orders smaller. Therefore, the air heating designs acceptable for small collectors are not effective for large-power storage making simultaneously heating, humidifying, and directed acceleration of media into vortex tower.
In our CIP, solar rays directly heat just water in streamline double-glass surface and in shut ponds below. The water is stored in the ponds with accumulating/releasing materials of high heat density, and is used for flashing with acceleration of steam jets into air channels and into zones of vortex tower. In referred patents there are no analogues water heating surfaces with modules having controlled collectors to maximize total solar insolation, moreover serving as solar roof for storage of hot water and for channels that humidify, heat, and accelerate the wind or sucked stagnant air by both solar rays and steam jets. Saturated steam received from flashed water gives high latent condensation heat and kinetic energy of accelerated jets, relatively low sizes and cost of the storage and tower, and reduced demands for auxiliary power. Accelerated wind or ambient air gives similar effects after forcing by steam jets with augmented attainable power and longevity of annual operation time. Such single storing, heating, humidifying and accelerating system, and the single flow-through electric generator with rotated drum in vortex tower, are adaptable to the regions with cold winter and changeable loads including peak, intermediate, and minimum loads. This multi-layer streamline design has principal differences relative to disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,993 open solar pond providing heating and storing of salty water in torrid zone.
It is reasonable to underline that no one combination of the patents referred above yields possibility to solve effectively the complex of problems mentioned above.
For instance, a combination of the Valentin's U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,046, Wortham's U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,006, and Eder's U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,283 cannot satisfy to the demand for all-climate, all-weather, and all-regime sustained operation without combustion of expensive fuel of high quality, at low plant size, cost, and prices of electricity and water competitive with conventional and new kinds of large-power plants. Relating to every of these patents we show above that attainable unit power is limited by attainable power of air turbine or blade-type energy converter, by limited sizes of overstressed moving components of Valentin's tower, and by tremendous size of connections, material expenses and auxiliary power at combining of several Valentin's towers having solar canopies, several Wortham's top parts of devices having field of solar reflectors, and increased Eder's solar surfaces for Valentin's solar collectors. We show, that these units are not compatible at combining into one power station, because they cannot be built and function together at one site, and destroy process one to another, especially at unfavorable climate and regime. Combustion of fuel in Valentin's cyclonic towers cannot solve these problems. Indeed, Valentin asserts that system “can be installed at any location” (column 1, lines 11–12) and that it is possible to use the device in different ambient conditions (column 1, lines 36–43). However, from explanation to FIG. 4 is seen that this feature is provided via combustion of high-quality fuel 22 in the tower and use of energy of hot gases after combustion for driving of blade-type energy converter 24 sucking air. In description to FIG. 6 Valentin explains that a system of several towers is completed and improved by a combustion module 55 provided with burners 54 to supply energy when the climatic conditions do not assist operation of system. It is seen the fuel basis of relating limitations in claims 1–7. Hoverer, we show above, that combustion of fuel in the tower cannot increase attainable power higher of limitation for air turbine, and reduces reliability, economic efficiency and ecologic fitness, especially at unfavorable conditions. It cannot prevent to freezing of structures and destroying of process at low ambient temperatures. This gives limitation of annual operation time. For operation at such conditions it is necessary off-seasonal storage of hot medium having materials of high heat density and able to supply large-power kinetic energy and concentrated heat into vortex tower. Additionally, are necessary special design decisions preventing to freezing, as our hot steam jets replacing overstressed moving structures and heating inlets of the storage and tower. The combined designs have not adequate large-power electric generator, and effective decisions for multi-functional off-seasonal storage and preventing means. Moreover, we show above that their combining brings ineffective raise of total size, material expences, and auxiliary power, instead of total compacting, cheapening, and competitiveness.
Our invention meet the non-obvious problems discussed above. It disclosures the preferred embodiments of the compacted, cheap, and competitive steam-enhanced vortex power plants using renewables or waste heat at various climatic and regime conditions, including cold regions. These plants can give radically larger attainable power, longer annual operation time, and lower size, cost, and prices of energy and water relative to the known kinds of plants. They can operate without fuel firing, extensive convection collector, mechanical sucking of air, large number of overstressed moving parts of tower(s), or air turbine(s) of limited power. These features reduce dynamical stresses and deviations, and raise controllability, safety, and ecological fitness of vortex power plants.